


Lilium bulbiferum

by fezwearingjellybananas



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Minor Cisco Ramon/Cindy Reynolds, Past Ronnie Raymond/Caitlin Snow, Very minor Barry Allen/Iris West
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 16:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18898366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Cisco's getting married, hence the visits to every shop in Central that sells flowers.Technically, Lily's not a florist.She's still their favourite.





	Lilium bulbiferum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AgentMaryMargaretSkitz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/gifts).



> Happy birthday to the wonderful agentmarymargaretskitz (who has written several snowlily fic for anyone curious)
> 
>  _Lilium bulbiferum_ is the Latin name for the orange lily

“Cisco,” Caitlin said. She looked through the window that had caught his attention, then sighed. “We have five minutes.”

“Five is plenty.” Cisco pushed open the door, and the myriad of smells washed over Caitlin. Pots full of plants of all shapes and sizes lined every side, some hanging from the walls, Caitlin had never seen so many.

“Can I help you?” the lady behind the counter asked. She smiled.

“I was just admiring your display,” Cisco said. “You’re not a florist.”

“Not exactly,” she said. “We mostly have house plants, but lots could also be grown outside.”

“It’s a beautiful shop. Right, Caitlin?”

“Yes,” Caitlin said. “Beautiful.”

“Thank you. But if you need a florist, I can recommend Ms Lance down the street.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you,” Cisco said. “Do you have anything easy to grow?”

“How easy?”

“My fiancée and I are busy quite often, but house plants would brighten things up.”

“I’m sure we can find something. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. Oh, wait, Caitlin isn’t my fiancée, she’s my best friend.”

“Hi,” Caitlin said. “Cisco, your meeting?”

“My meeting,” Cisco agreed. “Oh snap, my meeting, I should go, but I will definitely be back later to look at plants.”

“We’re open until six.”

* * *

“You know, that flower shop isn’t far,” Caitlin said. Cisco was sitting at his desk, seemingly lost in thought. “You have an hour and a half before your next meeting.”

“Caitlin, you’re the best,” Cisco said. He tugged at one of his gloves, making sure his hands were covered. “Come on.”

“Why am I coming?”

“Please?”

“Fine.”

* * *

Cisco was smiling when he pushed open the door.

“Hi,” he said. “I said we would be back. I’m Cisco, this is Caitlin.”

“I’m Lily.” If Lily was surprised to see them back again- and so soon- she didn’t show it. “You wanted our easy to care for plants?”

“Something that won’t mind if I forget to water it,” Cisco said.

“Do you get much sunlight?”

Cisco looked at Caitlin.

“Reasonable, probably,” Caitlin said.

“You could try one of these.” Lily lead them to a stand near the window. It looked like it had been a bookshelf, but now pots with small plants lined the shelves, and one of them was tumbling down the side, clinging to the wood.

Cisco picked up a pot with a plant with round leaves, green at the base and purple at the top.

“Echivaria,” Lily said. “That’s a good one. It needs sunlight, and a pot with good drainage, and not too much water. It’s probably best if you let the soil dry out completely before watering it again, and only so the soil is damp.”

“It’s perfect,” Cisco said. 

* * *

Cisco wandered into S.T.A.R. Labs the next day with a dazed look on his face. Honestly.

“Cisco,” Caitlin said.

“Right,” Cisco said. “Cindy loves our new plant child.”

“That’s good.”

“But Echi looks lonely on the windowsill all by their self.”

“Oh, Cisco.”

* * *

Cisco brought Caitlin back around a week later. Lily smiled when they walked in.

“How’s your plant?”

“Echi’s great,” Cisco said. “But lonely.”

“That tends to happen,” Lily said. “How about this one?” She picked up a plant with long, thin leaves, all facing up. “Aloe Vera’s are always popular, and they only need small amounts of water, and well drained pots.”

“It’s very green,” Cisco said. “Caitlin, what do you think?”

“It is lovely,” Caitlin said. “How does Cindy feel about adding more to your plant collection?”

“She’s the one who said Echi looked lonely. Just the Aloe, please, Lily.”

* * *

It wasn’t just Vera, because Cisco took Caitlin back to Lily’s shop another four times for more plants. Lily was nice.

Cisco was trying to talk her into going back to Lily’s when Frankie knocked on the door to Cisco’s office.

“Mister Ramon, you have a visitor,” she said. Cisco beamed at her.

“You really should call me Cisco, Frankie. Who is it?”

“Um-”

Hartley Rathaway walked in. Cisco’s smile slipped.

“Mister Ramon,” he said. “Doctor Snow.”

“Hartley,” Cisco said. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find out your intentions for S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“Why, so you can sell those to Stagg too?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s why Doctor Wells fired you.”

“Harrison fired me because I confronted him on the flaws in his accelerator.”

“What?”

“He knew?” Caitlin asked. “He knew it was dangerous?”

“Caitlin.”

Cisco helped her sit. He crouched down to look her in the eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“He knew. He knew and he turned it on?”

“Hartley, you better not be lying about this.”

“Why would I lie?” Hartley asked. “He rushed into this project and his arrogance got people hurt. Caitlin, what’s-”

“Ronnie went into the accelerator to try and shut it down,” Cisco said. “He died.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“He knew,” Caitlin said. “How could he do that?”

“Rebuilding S.T.A.R. Labs was a distraction,” Cisco said. “It was a way to try and do some good and fix our mistakes. We just wanted to fix things.”

“You’re not rebuilding the accelerator.”

“No way. We let Doctor McGee and Mercury Labs do a full report right after it happened, didn’t you see?”

“I was in the hospital for a while,” Hartley said. “The explosion damaged my implants.”

“The explosion damaged my hands,” Cisco said. “A lot of people got hurt. People died.”

“And Doctor Wells knew,” Caitlin said.

“We can make it right,” Cisco said. “We’re going to make it right. We can start by undoing one mistake.” Cisco offered Hartley his hand. “Neither of us ever intended to be business people, and I could use another hand.”

“You want to hire me?”

“You can explain to me exactly what happened with the particle accelerator.”

* * *

Cisco had offered to take Caitlin home, but she’d elected to visit the bar alone. He had another meeting to prepare for the next day, a potentially big one, and she needed a drink.

He’d known. Doctor Wells had known.

“Caitlin?”

Caitlin looked up from her drink at the familiar voice. Lily smiled.

“Hi,” Caitlin said.

“Are you here on your own?”

“At the moment.”

“Would you like some company?”

“That would be nice,” Caitlin said. Lily beamed.

“I’m here with a few friends, but I’m sure none of them will mind. We’ve got a table over there if you’d like to join us.”

Caitlin nodded and picked up her drink. Lily seemed to be carrying a few.

Three people were waiting at the table for her.

“Everyone, this is Caitlin,” Lily said. “Caitlin, this is Jax, Ray, and Zari.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Ray said.

“You too,” Caitlin said.

* * *

Jax, Ray, and Zari were nice. It was nice spending the evening with them. It took Caitlin’s mind off everything.

Lily drove her home.

“Your friends are nice,” Caitlin said. “How did you all meet?”

“Jax lives next door,” Lily said. “Our mothers are good friends, they actually set up the shop together a few years ago. Jax helps out too, I’m surprised you haven’t met him before. He’s like my little brother. And Ray and I crossed paths a few times while I was at MIT, we stayed in touch and became friends, and he grew up best friends with Zari, they’re like a package deal.”

“You went to MIT?”

“I have a doctorate in nanotechnology. But my dad was hurt the night of the particle accelerator, and my ma needed help running the shop while she looked after him, so here I am. Jax is the same, he was doing mechanical engineering at C.C.U., but his knee was hurt, which meant he couldn’t play football, and he lost his football scholarship. He’s been helping while he decides what to do next.”

“It hurt so many people.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I found out today Doctor Wells was told the accelerator would fail, and he ignored that. So many people were hurt. I have a friend with severe burn scars where they were struck by lightning and crashed into a chemical shelf and they ended up in a coma for nine months, Cisco lost his hands, and Ronnie...” Caitlin trailed off and bit back a sob. “We worked at S.T.A.R. Labs. Ronnie went to try and shut down the accelerator, and he died. We were supposed to get married.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily said. “That explains why you were in the bar tonight.”

“I’m sorry about your father.”

“Dad’s getting better. He’ll be fine.”

“It’s just here,” Caitlin said. Lily pulled over outside Caitlin’s building. “Thank you.”

“Any time. Here.” Lily pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen and scribbled something down. She passed it to Caitlin. “My number. In case you ever want someone to talk to.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

Cisco was pacing. Again.

“It’ll be fine,” Caitlin said.

“It’s Palmer Tech.”

“Listen to Caitlin,” Hartley said.

“It’s _Palmer Tech_.”

“Mister Ramon, Doctor Palmer is here,” Frankie said.

“I changed my mind,” Cisco said. “I changed my mind, Hartley, you pretend to be me and talk to him.”

“It’s your prosthetics he’s here to see,” Hartley said.

“Thank you, Frankie, you can show him in,” Caitlin said. Frankie nodded.

“Oh no,” Cisco said. “Oh no, oh no-”

“Breathe,” Caitlin said. Ray and Zari, Lily’s friends, walked in.

“Mister Ramon, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ray said. “I’m Ray Palmer, this is Zari Tomaz.”

Cisco shook Ray’s hand. Lily had not mentioned that.

“Please, call me Cisco. This is Doctor Caitlin Snow and Hartley Rathaway. Um. Would you like something to drink?”

“Maybe just water, thank you,” Zari said. Caitlin poured out two glasses from the jug Frankie had left on his desk.

“Thank you for seeing us,” Ray said. “I’ve been reading up on your work, it’s impressive.”

“I’ve had a lot of help,” Cisco said. “You wanted to talk about the prosthetics?”

“How close are you?”

“They’re a work in progress.” Cisco looked at Caitlin, and waited for her nod. He took off one of his gloves, then his hand, and passed it to Ray. “Very much a work in progress. Hopefully the next prototype should have more control over the joints in the fingers, and ultimately I hope we’ll be able to find a way to produce multiple prosthetics as cheaply as we can, and make them wildly available.”

“I’m sure my friend Nate would love it if you tried legs,” Ray said. He passed Cisco his hand back. “Any help you need, Palmer Tech would love to provide it. I know an excellent scientist with a degree in nanotechnology.”

Ray’s eyes twinkled and he winked at Caitlin. Lily, he was talking about Lily.

“That was quick,” Cisco said. “Was that quick?”

“I’m sure we still have a lot to discuss,” Zari said.

* * *

“That went well,” Cisco said. “Did that go well?”

“That went well,” Hartley said. He turned to Caitlin. “How do you know Ray Palmer?”

“Lily introduced us last night,” Caitlin said. “And Zari. I went to a bar and ran into her.”

“Who’s Lily?”

“Flower shop Lily?” Cisco asked.

“She’s the one with the PhD in nanotechnology from MIT,” Caitlin said.

“Huh.”

“What flower shop?” Hartley asked.

* * *

Cisco seemed very interested in Caitlin spending an evening with Lily, even if it was a coincidence they were there at the same time, and Lily’s friends were also there.

If Caitlin spent the next few days texting Lily, Cisco didn’t need to know that.

* * *

Cisco also didn’t need to know it was Lily Caitlin was meeting for lunch. She told him she’d finish early Friday, which he was obviously curious about, but Cisco was also the one always telling Caitlin she needed something outside work and pointing out she hadn’t taken any time off in the past year.

She hadn’t since Ronnie.

Maybe leaving Cisco and Hartley alone was asking for trouble, but they did seem to be getting along better now. Hopefully.

Lunch with Lily, they talked about everything. The latest scientific developments, favourite flowers, how Lily had met Ray and subsequently Zari, how Caitlin had met Cisco, everything under the sun. Lily even asked her about Ronnie, and Caitlin laughed as she told stories.

She had no idea how much time had passed; not until Lily mentioned needing to get back.

Caitlin walked her. Two people seemed to be arguing not far from Lily’s shop.

“I had a really nice time,” Lily said.

“Me too,” Caitlin said. “I’d like to do it again.”

“That would be nice. Was this a date?”

Caitlin froze. She hadn’t gone on a date since Ronnie, she hadn’t even thought about it-

They’d reached the two arguing people, and Barry Allen smiled.

“Hi Caitlin,” he said. “Hi Caitlin’s friend.”

“This is Lily,” Caitlin said. “Lily, this is Cynthia and Barry.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lily said. “You must be Cisco’s Cindy, he talks about you a lot.”

“And you have the plant shop,” Cindy said. “He’s mentioned you too.”

“The one Cisco got Vera from?” Barry asked. “Oh, um, do I need to-" He gestured at his scar.

"No," Cindy said. She narrowed her eyes at Lily.

"Is that a tortoise wearing a stripy jumper?" Lily asked.

“This is McSnurtle,” Barry said. “My friend Sue knitted the jumper for her.”

“She’d adorable,” Lily said.

“She is, isn’t she?”

“Did you take McSnurtle for a walk?” Caitlin asked.

“No, of course not,” Barry said. “She sits in the basket on the front of my bicycle, Wally adapted it especially for her, and she came with me to bring Iris lunch.”

“Oh, of course. That makes much more sense.”

“And Cindy was visiting Ralph, you know his office is opposite Iris’, and she said she was going to quickly pop into a florist and we could talk about me getting my job back.”

“You still have a job,” Cindy sighed. “You are on medical leave.”

“But I’m bored.”

“You were in a _coma_.”

“That does seem like a good reason to be on medical leave,” Lily said.

“How’s Iris?” Caitlin asked.

“She’s well,” Barry said. “Did you see her article on the drag racing?”

“It was good seeing you, Caitlin,” Cindy said. “The florist is this way, Barry.”

“Did you see Iris’ article?”

“Yes, Barry, I arrested Bronwen."

"See, I'd know this if you let me have my job back."

"You do know it's not my decision, don't you?"

“Quick.” Caitlin pulled Lily into her shop. “Iris is his wife, he can talk about how wonderful she is for hours.”

“They seem nice,” Lily said. “Cindy isn’t much like Cisco, is she?”

“She’s not as open as Cisco is. He likes everyone and Cindy takes a lot longer to warm up to people, but she can get very protective when she does like you. The exception is Cisco, it was pretty much love at first sight.”

“Do you believe in that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Cisco and Cindy seemed that way, and Ralph and Sue, but Barry and Iris were best friends growing up and say they didn’t realise they were in love with each other until they went to separate colleges and stopped seeing each other every day.”

“And you and Ronnie?”

“Not at first. I always had a set routine and Ronnie was more spontaneous. He used to say opposites attract. He helped me be more open.”

“He sounds wonderful,” Lily said. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, Caitlin.”

* * *

Caitlin hadn’t heard from Lily, and she had a feeling she’d messed something up.

Cisco’s wedding was in just a few weeks and he was so happy- and busy. And it didn’t seem like Hartley’s sort of thing.

Iris was in her office though. With Ralph and whatever excuse he was using this time.

“Hey, Caitlin,” Ralph said. “What’s up?”

“I needed Iris’ advice with something,” Caitlin said.

“Of course,” Iris said. “What is it?”

“There’s a girl.”

Caitlin explained everything. Meeting Lily, the bar, the possibly a date, right up until-

“Oh no.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t answer her question. And she asked about Ronnie.”

“And you’re still in love with him,” Ralph said.

“Yes,” Caitlin said. “No. I don’t know. But he’s gone and Lily’s wonderful, and I have to go.”

“And you know what to say,” Iris said.

“I think so,” Caitlin said. “Thank you, I have to go.”

Caitlin rushed out the door.

* * *

Lily was in her shop. She smiled when Caitlin rushed in.

“Hey, Caitlin,” she said. “Do you need something?”

“Something for Cisco and Cindy’s wedding?” Caitlin said. “I came to say sorry. I forgot to answer your question.”

“I read it wrong, I get it.”

“You didn’t. I think I clung on to my grief for a long time because it felt like it was the only part of Ronnie I had left, but he’s gone and he’s not coming back. And I’ll probably need to take things slow, but I really like you and I think that was a date. If you’d like it to be.”

“I think I would,” Lily said. “And another date would be nice. But you need a plant.”

“You probably have a better idea than I do.”

“Here.” Lily pulled one out from behind the counter. “We had an orange lily mixed in with the white and pink. Unless Cisco and Cindy have cats.”

“Probably best not to give him ideas,” Caitlin said. “It’s beautiful. And perfect. But I think I picked the best Lily in the shop.”

“Wow,” Lily said. She leaned across the counter. Close enough to kiss. “That is so cheesy.” She laughed, and Caitlin couldn’t help but join in.

“I know. It’s probably Cisco’s influence.”

“You’re cute. I’ll call you?”

“I’d like that. A lot.”


End file.
